Film Review: Petite Maman
Images courtesy of Madman Entertainment.
Having written for films such as My Life as a Courgette and directed the prolific Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Girlhood, French screenwriter/director Céline Sciamma has made a strong impact on world cinema over the past decade, her work often coming from a distinctly female perspective thanks to what she refers to as "the female gaze". Her newest film Petite Maman (which literally translates to Little Mother) is no different, tenderly following eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) as she bonds with a younger version of her mother, Marion (played by Gabrielle Sanz, Josephine's twin).
At a lean 72 minutes, Sciamma shows a masterful understanding of exactly how to focus and pace the story she's telling. We learn very early on of Nelly's grandmother's passing, and through a breakfast scene we're briskly shown that their family is filled with love. I expected there to be some trite drama between her mother and father here, but no such moment came, and I found myself thankful that the script had no interest in using cliché to get from one narrative beat to the next.
Instead, we're quickly yet gingerly pulled into a film about compassion, understanding, and the sadness that comes with loss. Petite Maman shows respect for its audience and reverence for its central themes, opting not to over-explain its time travel logic, or even bother spending too much time ruminating on whether that's actually the case. Above all, this is a story about motherly love.
While my prior coverage of films such as The Innocents and Belfast had me worriedly anticipating either a dark turn or a much more pre-packaged dose of heartstring-tugging, I found Petite Maman penetrating deeper into my own history of matriarchal gentleness, having spent the bulk of my formative years living in the care of my mother, step-mother and Nan. It's a tender hug of a film, one that leaves you feeling full of appreciation for all the cups of hot chocolate and warm blankets. It won't leave you in tears, but if it doesn't move you at all, I'd recommend checking if you still have a heart.
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Petite Maman is screening in cinemas nationwide from Thursday May 5th. For tickets and more info, click here.